Improvement in harvesters



1. S. DAVIS.

Harvesters. No. 139,122.

2 Sheets--Sheet1.

Patented May 20,1873.

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JOHN S. DAVIS, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 139,122, dated May 20,1873 application filed March '12, 1873.

To all whom it may concer-n:

Be it known that I, JOHN S. DAVIS, of Toledo, in the county of Lucas andin the State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Harvesters; and do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon,making a part of this specification. y

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and arrangementof certain devices connecting the drivers seat with the cutter-bar of aharvester` 5 and alsoin the devices for connecting the cutter-bar withthe frame of the machine, all of which will be hereinafter more fullyset forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my inventionappertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe itsconstruction and operation, referring to the annexed drawing in which-Figure l is a plan view, Fig. 2 is a bottom view, and Fig. 3 a sideelevation, of my entire machine. Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 show detachedviews of certain parts of the same.

A represents the main frame, the forward end of which forms a pipe, B,that extends from side to side of the machine, and through which themain shaft or axle O passes. This pipe B is chambered, as shown in Fig.9, the bearings a and b being bored to it the main shaft. In the rear ofthe axle C the main frame A supports the counter-shaft d and crank-shafte, and is scalloped out so as to form a pit or space, E, for thebevel-gear D, so that said gear can be perfectly incased. The shafts dand e are placed in pipe-boxes, which are bored or milled throughouttheir entire length,

and the shafts turned to lit them, thus making a bearing the wholelength of the shaft, the pipe-bearings being then firmly bolted to themain frame, as shown iu Fig. 1. The drivingwheel Gr is bored out andfits loose on the end of the axle nearest to the cutter-bar, and bymeans of a spring-pawl, f, engages with a ratchet-wheel, h, in theordinary Way, said ratchet-wheel being keyed fast to the axle, whichenables the drive-wheel to give motion to said axle when moving forward,and out of gear when backing. The drive-wheel G on the opposite side ofthe axle is arranged in the same way, the internal gear .H being keyedon the axle, and having the ratchetwheel formed ou the outer end of itshub. I represents the drivers seat, showing the location ofthe driver onthe machine. lt will be seen that the entire weight of the driver andthe gearing, together with almost the entire weight of the main frame,rests upon the axle on the left side of the center of the machine, beingsupported by the bearing a of the main frame, thus counteracting sidedraft by giving a greater resistance to the drive-wheel G to moveforward than to the drive-wheel Gr, even though a self-rake be mountedon the shoe, thus rendering the machine better adapted for self-rakethan machines usually are. The counter-shaft d is located on the mainframe A in the rear ofthe axle O, so that when the machine is movedforward they internal gear H engages with the spur-pinion z on the endof said counter-shaft, and acts to lift the main frame at this point;and the greater the resistance is to the cutters, the greater thetendency for the gear H to lift upward on the main frame, thus relievingthe bearing a when the machine is in motion ofv most of the weight thatis brought upon it, which diminishes the friction on said bearing byconveying the weight to the drive-wheel G through the medium of thegear-wheel H, said gear-w heel bein g keyed fast to the main shaft, andrevolves together with both the shaft and the Wheel G. The reverse ofthis would be the result if the counter-shaft l were located in front ofthe axle, which would be detrimentahas it would increase the frictionou'the bearing a instead of diminishing it. Inv order to prevent thecounter-shaft d from being. cramped by being lifted at its spur-pinionend, I arrange the bevel-pinion m, which is attached on the front end ofthe crank-shaft e, in front of the center of the bevel-wheel D, so thatthe resistance of said bevel-pinion causes the bevel-gear end of thecounter-shaft to bear upward also, so that the shaft remains in linethroughout its entire length. As all gears have a tendency to get out ofmesh when at work, so has the internal gear H a tendency to force thespur-pinion i in the direction of the arrow 1 in Fig. 1; but thearrangement of the bevel-gear D is such that the bevel-pinion m forcesthe bevel-gear in the opposite direction, indicated by the arrow 2. Thusthe friction that would be created on the shaft by the internal gear His counteracted and taken up by the bevel-gear D. J represents theshoe-support, cast in the shape shown, and to which the shoe K isilexibl y attached directly at the rear end and at the front end,through the medium of a wrought-iron piece, a, said piece passingthrough the front end ofthe shoe-support J, and kept to its place by anut on each side of the support.

By the use of these nuts it will be seen that the piece n can beadjusted in the line of its length, so that when, by constant wear ofthe hinge-pins of the shoe K, the point of the cutterbar falls back, itcan be readily brought forward again in line with the connecting-rod.

The shoe-support J is cast with a recess in its upper surface for thereception ofthe coupling arm or support L, where they are rigidly boltedor riveted together. This arm L is attached to the rear end of the mainframe A in the manner shown in Fig. 7. About eight inches of the end ofthe arm L that is attached to the main frame is made round, and passesthrough a sleeve, p, which, in turn, passes through a pipe, M, and thearm L is secured, by a nut, to the sleeve in such a manner that both thearm and the sleeve are retained in the pipe M, so that the arm L canrevolve around an axis in the line of its length to admit of the guardson the cutter-bar to be elevated or depressed. The end of the pipe M isliexibly connected to the extreme rear of the main frame by means oflugs and a hinge-pin, the axis of which pin is parallel with the crankshaft e, so that the outer end of the arm L, with the shoe-support J,can rise. and fall independent ofthe main frame, as well as to rollvaround its own axis. N represents the dragbar or brace, which ishinged, at its upper end, to lugs projecting from the main frame A, theaxis of this hinge-pin coinciding or being on a line with the hinge-pinof the pipe M; and the' lower end of the drag-bar is flexibly connectedto the shoe-support J by lugs projectingdown from said support and a pinpassing through, the axis of said hinge-pin being on a line, or

nearly so, with the center of the pipe M, so.

that the rotary movement of the arm L will be uniform.

It is intendedto make two sizes of this machine, one forty-inch wheeland another thirtyinch wheel, and on this small machine I will use adragbar running directly forward, as represented by the dotted lilies Nin Fig. l. This form of drag-bar is not so well adapted to large wheels,as its front end would have to be suspended so far below the axle toprevent too much sweeping back of the bar on being elevated that-itwould look awkward, and be difficult to give it sufncient strength.

The rotary movement of the arm L, or elevating and depressing of thepoints of the' guards, is produced by a lever, 0, which is fastened atits lower end to the bar L, and is provided with a spring-catch, r, thatmoves up and down on the lever and engages with a ratchet-plate, s, thesame being cast with and forming part ofthe pipe M. This ena-bles thedriver, without leaving his seat, to change the angle of the cut asdesired; and, by holding the bar in its angle position with pipe andratchet-plate, (these being supported by the main fra1ne,) it enables meto use the drag-bar N for small machines without the objection comm onto all such drag-bars--viz., ofthe front end of the guards incliuingdownward when the heel of the bar is elevated or raised from the ground.P represents the seat-support, made of hard wood, of suitabledimensions, and hinged at its front end to a cross-piece, R, which isbolted to and supported by the tongue S. The seat I is attached andsupported by a springbar, T, bolted to a slide, t, which moves in a slotin the seat-support P, by which means the seat can be adjusted back andforth so as to balance the machine when changed from a mower to areaper, and vice versa. V V are foot-rests, which are also adjusted withthe seat, they being attached to the under side. of the slide t. Thesefoot-rests, being suspended beneath the machine, admit of the driversseat being located very low on the machine, at a point below the top ofthe drivewheels, which produces less lateral throw or jerking of thedriver when the machine is passing an obstruction. The footrests alsoenable the driver to mount and dismount the machine very easy throughthe open space between the drive-wheel G and the end of the cross-piecelt, besides allowing an easy position when occupying the seat. The rearend of the seat-support l? is supported by the balancing. lever or beamW W. X represents a casting with a hole cored through its entire length,through which to pass a bolt; it also has a recess cut or cast in eachend for the reception of the wrought-iron levers W W', said levers, aswell as the clampwashers t0 w, having bolt-holes through them. After thelevers XV W are put to their place the clamp-washers w w are applied anda bolt passed through them and drawn up, all ot' which are firmly heldtogether, as shown in Fig. 6. It will also be seen that the washers wform trunnions or pivots to admit of the device being suspended andoscillate in lugs projecting downward from the pipe B of the main frameA. rlhis device being suspended directly beneath the axle, as shown, thelever or arm W" projects to the rear of the axle, and is connected tothe drag-bar N by one or more links, and the lever W projects to thefront of the machine, and upon which rests the seat arrangement throughthe medium of the roller m and its stand y. There is a projection on theupper side of the stand y that tits loosely in a slot in the seat-boardF; the

pointer or washer z also has a downward projection fitting in the sameslot, which acts as a guide to keep them from turning when beingadjusted from the front to the rear of the lever W, the stand y andpointer z beingA fastened together by abolt passing through the same. Itwill be seen that this arrangement admits of a large variation in weightwith a small space of adjustment back and forth on the leverW. Forinstance, when the fnlcrum z y m is adjusted forward it increases theleverage of the driver on the seat-board P, as well as on the lever W',thus admitting the use of a short beam,W, and allowing a boy of fiftypounds weight to operate it as well as a man of three hundred pounds, asindicated by the scale c on the upper side of the seat-board P. Asalmost everybody knows his own weight, the weight of the heel of the baror inner shoe can be taken up with great precision and conveyed-to themachine in such a manner that the drive-wheel G sustains a portion ofit, which results in the advantage, iirst, of avoiding friction oftheshoe on the ground by throwing its weight on the drive-wheels, whichlessens side draft, diminishing direct draft, and increasing the powerof the drive-wheels; secondly, by causing the inner shoe to bear aslightly on the ground as the outer shoe, it will allow the longest endof the bar to keep to the ground when passing over an ant-hill or otherlike obstruction, whether it be the outer or inner end of thecutter-bar. It will be seen that the upward and downward movement of theinner shoe or heel of the cutter-bar is practically unlimited, as it isnot suspended by a liftingchain, which is most usually the case, but iselevated and controlled exclusively through the medium of the seat,which gives much more freedom than can be obtained by the necessarilylimited slackness in a chain upon which they have to depend forelevatingbar, a lift-chain having but little slack, for thc reason thatit -would otherwise require more sweep in lift-lever than could beobtained. b is a hook or button held to the rear end of the seat-board Pby a bolt passing through the same, so that the hook can oscillatearound said bolt. d. is a handle fastened by one of its ends to aprojecting lug on the pipe B of the main frame within easy reach of thedriver, so that by taking hold of said handle the driver can aid by hisown weight to depress the rear end of the seat-board P so that the hookb will engage or hook onto a projection, e, from beneath the pipenB ofthe main frame, thus elevating the heel of the bar and holding it inthat position. The heel of the bar can again be let down by the operatortaking hold of the handle d and disengaging the hook b with his thumb,thus dispensing with a lever for this purpose. The tongue S is madeadjustable by the means shown in Fig. l5 so that the rear end of themain frame may be held at different elevations, thus-better adapting itfor reaping high, or mowing with the bar on the ground. Y is a lever, tobe used either as a foot or hand lever, with which to raise the outerend of the cutter-bar independent of the inner end. ing, Z, that passesthrough abearing beneath the tongue S where the crank f is attached. Arod, h, is connected to this crank, and passes down and engages with anelbowlever, t', the other end of said elbow-lever being by a rod, k,connected with an upright lever, m', which is fastened at its lower endto the front end of the shoe K in such a manner that when its upper endis moved to the left or toward the machine the outer end of -thecutter-bar is raised, the said movement of the lever m being caused bydepressing the foot-lever Y, drawing the rod It forward, and actuatingthe elbow-lever t. The pipecasting Z has a hole cored through it toreceive a bolt, and at one end is a recess to receive the lever Y, andthe other end is corrugated to correspond with corrugations on the crankf', as shown in Fig-8, the whole being firmly held together by the boltpassing through. By means of the corrugations the crank j may be held inany position required. It can be reversed, as shown by dotted lines inFig. 3, which necessarily reverses the motion of the lever Y, so thatthe operator can use his hand if he wishes and pull the lever Y towardhim to raise the point of the bar, or vice versa, using either his handor his foot. rPhe crank j" can also be adjusted at such an angle thatthe elevation of the outer end 'of the cutter-bar can be increased ordiminished at will. By diminishing, it of course requires less power toraise it, and in this way can be made easy for a boy to operate it; atthe same time the crank can be set so that the rod h is made to pass itscenter, thus holding the bar in its elevated position.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of the seat I, hinged seat-support P, levers WV W,and drag-bar N, substantially in the manner and for the purposes hereinset forth.

2. The adjustable fulcrum y, in combina-tion with a hinged seat-supportand lever, W W', for the purpose of regulating the pressure of the innershoe upon the ground by the weight of the driver, substantially asherein set forth.

3. In combination with a drivers seat adjustably connected to the frameof the inachine, the scale a and adjustable pointer, so that the drivercan readily adapt his weight to the proper balancing of the heel of thecntter-bar, substantially in Ythe manner described.

4. The pivot clamp-washers 'w fw, the hollow casting X, and the leversl/V W', constructed, arranged, and combined substantially in the mannerand for the purposes herein set forth.

5. The handle d', hook b', and projection e',

The lever Y is fastened to a pipe-cast-V in combination with the hingedseat-support P, arranged substantially in the manner and for thepurposes herein set forth.

6. The adjustable foot-han gers V V, placed under the main frame, incombination with the adjustable seat I, for the purposes set forth.

7. The combination of the bar L, lever O7 pipe M, hinged to thegear-frame, and ratchetplate s cast thereon, substantially as and forthe purposes herein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this24th day of February, 1873.

JOHN S. DAVIS. Witnesses:

CHAs. G. WILsoN, E. H. POTTER.

